Studio Friday - Portfolio

Today's Studio Friday topic is the portfolio:

I've never put one together. I would be very interested to see and hear what everyone else has as a portfolio and what makes up one" ~ Jo

Well, neither have I, really... I guess you could say that my Flickr account is a portfolio (of sorts) for my polymer clay work-- but in my opinion, a portfolio should be more streamlined than my Flickr page is. Instead of quantity, it should be about quality. If I were buildnig a portfolio, I would choose only a limited number of examples of my very best work. I would take painstaking care to take the best photos of these items-- professional and attractive, but careful to represent the items truthfully. (These days, with Photoshop, it's just too easy to manipulate photos into something better than the original.) I would include detailed, but precise, information about the media used, dimensions, etc. for each piece. I would also write a "cover letter" (or whatever you'd call it, in this instance) briefly explaining my history, the media I use, and my "vision" for my art (or something like that). I would probably also include a list of websites, galleries, etc. where my work could be found.

But I can't really see myself needing anything of that sort-- not ever, really. Right now, I'm still just playing around with the possibility of someday (soon, I hope) selling a few things on-line. I don't think I'd need a portfolio unless I were trying to get my work included in a gallery or show somewhere, or trying to convince a boutique to carry a line of my products-- not something even remotely on my horizon. (g)